How can you deepen your knowledge of Sacred Scripture this summer? These resources are a great place to start.

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Although the Church uses the New American Bible translation in its lectionary, most Catholic biblical scholars and theologians recommend using the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. Better still is the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, which uses the RSV translation and includes helpful notes, commentary and questions for reflection. Right now, only the New Testament and select Old Testament books are available, but the complete Bible will be available in the not-too-distant future.

For further help understanding the biblical texts, Scott Hahn’s “Catholic Bible Dictionary” (Doubleday: 2009) is also good to have on hand, while the new Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series from Baker Academic offers insights for more advanced students of the Bible.

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Approved Translations

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has posted this list of translations approved for private prayer and study since 1983. Any translation that received approval before 1983, such as the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition and the Jerusalem Bible, may also be used.

◗ Books of the New Testament, Alba House

◗ Contemporary English Version — New Testament, First Edition, American Bible Society

◗ Contemporary English Version — Book of Psalms, American Bible Society

◗ Contemporary English Version — Book of Proverbs, American Bible Society

◗ The Grail Psalter (Inclusive Language Version), G.I.A. Publications

◗ New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

◗ New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, National Council of Churches

◗ The Psalms, Alba House

◗ The Psalms (New International Version) — St. Joseph Catholic Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Company

◗ The Psalms — St. Joseph New Catholic Version, Catholic Book Publishing Company

◗ Revised Psalms of the New American Bible (1991)

◗ So You May Believe, A Translation of the Four Gospels, Alba House

◗ Today’s English Version, Second Edition, American Bible Society

◗ Translation for Early Youth, A Translation of the New Testament for Children, Contemporary English Version, American Bible Society

The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology offers free Bible studies and audio Bible courses at salvationhistory.com, as well as articles and Church documents about Scripture and the Catholic faith. Likewise, at Faith & Reason, an outreach of Franciscan University, you’ll find hundreds of hours of free podcasts and videos of talks given at past Applied Biblical Studies Conferences. St. Joseph’s Communications likewise features a vast audio library of talks for purchase on Scripture and the Catholic Church.

Looking for a Bible study for men? For moms? For teenage girls? What about for people recovering from addiction? Or preparing for marriage? In the catalogs of the leading Catholic publishers, you’ll find all those studies and more. These simple, short studies open up the Scriptures on particular topics for particular groups, using a combination of guided reading, reflection questions and helpful commentary. Most can be done on your own or as part of a small group.

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